Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 22,763 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 60.7%, acquiring an additional 22,763 shares and bringing its total to 60,287 shares valued at approximately $13.96 million.
• Institutional investors hold 80.40% of Waste Management's stock, with several firms recently adjusting their positions, including T. Rowe Price and Ascent Group.
• Waste Management reported $1.92 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 19.0% year-over-year, totaling $6.43 billion.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 60.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,287 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,763 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $13,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $226.80. The company had a trading volume of 3,371,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,726. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $230.00 and its 200-day moving average is $229.68. The company has a market capitalization of $91.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.